Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by micromaniac129:

Apperance dark amber color with a slight haze. nicely carbonated and pours with little head but is present throughoutAroma slight malt character with a nice hop presenceTaste good malt taste at first sip with hops coming into taste next, bitter towards endMouthfeel thin and watery but not that much a bit coarse and bitter at endDrinkability a good beer with nice flavors

More User Reviews:

Poured a rich deep amber with a tight 1/2 finger slight off white head that stuck like glue to the pint glass,ahh nice piney hop aromas overtop of sweet caramel a hint of roastinee quite nice.The hop profile didnt show itself as much on the palate the pine profile took a backseat to the bigger sweetish caramel malt base the piney,resiny hop came late into the finish.A nice quaffing relatively hoppedup American Red,I would buy again for sure.

Brewed with an English Ale yeast, pale, crystal, and dark crystal malts, hopped with Brewer's Gold, Simcoe, and dry-hopped with more Simcoe. An against the grain winter seasonal--we love it already.

Nice and bright, tarnished copper-colored brew, with a beige head, lacing and clinging stick. Floral, grapefruit, spicy, some mint and green wood in the nose. Super smooth on the palate, light and creamy, but rounded. Big and bold spicy-grapefruit hop flavor with a grassy edge and citric snap. Raw, leafy, and coarse on the tongue. Some chalky aspirin, too. Malt characters have no ground in the hop dominance, but they do pull through in the form of some biscuit-husky tannins--doughy at times--and there's a slight bready sweetness and drop of caramel that emerges as the beer warms. Wicked dry finish, with a lingering aspirin note that all leaves the palate bone-dry and smacking for more.

Though it does lack malt balance, the ride is an even one, and it is what it says--a "Hoppy Amber Ale." It's also nice to see so much damn hop flavor from a beer that's only 35 IBU, proving once again that hop usage doesn't need to be reckless to be big and bold. This one could give most IPAs a run for their money and is a "must try" for hopheads.

A 12oz bottle from the Ship of Fools variety pack. This was a dark amber with a medium creamy coffee head. Some nice lacing. It had a malty aroma, as well as some sweet, musty yeast. A creamy taste, with some citrus hops. A little spicy/nutty flavor when warmer. Pretty good beer.

Presentation: It was poured from a Brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: It has a deep amber colored body with some visible carbonation and very good clarity. On top sits a modest light tan head that hangs on well and makes some nice spotty lace on the glass.

Smell: The aroma has good strong pine and citrus hops with notes of grapefruit and lemon.

Taste/Mouth feel: It has a solid, rich malty base with very solid and pleasant citrus hop notes throughout. The hop bitterness builds towards the finish and lingers a bit before it slowly fades off the tongue. It has a solid medium to full body with a smooth yet lively texture and nice carbonation.

This beer us a typical brown with a malty nose and a hint of chocolate. The head on this beer is a tan the interesting part is the white lacing it leaves on the glass. This beer start malty sweet and finished with a chocolate bitterness. In between the two is a sour fruitiness similar to that of a dopplebock this is what sets it apart from other browns. This is a flavorful and drinkable brown.

Poured a nice amber/copper color with a nice frothy, off-white head that retained remarkably well with nice lacing.

Smells of candy sweetness and much floral hops.

Tastes of mild malts with the bitter hops taking over really quickly. Ends pretty dry and bitter aspiriny. The flavor isn't very "full", perhaps even a bit thin. It reminds me a lot of Cascazilla from Ithaca but not as good. Definitely not bad though, by any means.

Patchy light tan lace crowns the glass, good head retention and clarity to be looked at. Hoppy aroma that lets some malt in, a nose of mandarin oranges, wild flowers, caramel and sweet bread. Very smooth with a medium body. Hop profile flexes with an ample bitterness that throws a woody, herbal and slightly citric flavor. Malt sweetness is there but enough to hold the beer together in body and flavor. Hints of caramel and bread crust. Bit of fruity yeast, mineral and drying herbal hop flavor in the finish.

Hoppy Amber Ale or American Winter Warmer? It has a bit of a northwest flare but still holding on to the Magic Hat traits. Either way, I highly recommend this drinkable ale.

Bottle decants a mostly clear copper body with a healthy offwhite head. Attractive spiderweb lacing is all over the glass. Pleasant aroma opens with fruity peach, quickly followed by a blast of spicy pepper and some toasted caramel. Medium body and carbonation with an earthy feel. Taste has some fruity peach and subtle caramel and plenty of hop bitterness. Hops impart elements of citrus, pine, and spicy pepper. Rather exciting for an amber. Very drinkable.

Snagged a sixer at Macy's in Weymouth...no Celebration so this is what I I selected.
Pours a chestnut color with amber highlights with the help of some natural light...two finger head with no effort and leaves thick lacing as it recedes.
Nice balance of roasted malt to fruity hops in the nose...some piney scent too.
Taste is pretty darn good...the malt may just win out the battle here, as it is sweet up front and in the finish, but there is a decent hop profile to distinguish itself from your typical amber/red.
Mix of citrus hops and floral hops complement the balance and finishes quite clean.
Mouthfeel is medium-bodied and the carbonation is a touch high.
Overall, another offering from Magic Hat that is beginning to make me pay more attention to the recent happenings in Burlington, VT.
Well done...

Pours an amber red with a white head. First whiff is of hops, but then you get malt which makes me think it will be a nice balanced beer. This is definitely a hoppier amber ale, with a nice hop flavor (maybe grapefruits) but also enough malt to make it balanced. I know that American Amber/Red Ale is somewhat of a catch-all term, but this is what I want when I drink a beer of this style. This beer is very drinkable and goes down smooth. Great beer.

Smells strongly of hops--a lovely grapefruit scent that promises quality ingredients, as well as time and effort spent on making a good brew. There's also a very light grain smell, but by and large hops dominate the nose.

They are also the first taste to come across, the grapefruit bitterness translating nicely to the tongue and providing a medium-strong bitter buzz, comparable to a good quality IPA. Malts provide a nice sweet background on which the hops can play, bringing a lightly fruity sugary undertone, from which apricot and apple notes can be picked. The aftertaste is almost exclusively grapefruit-bitter hops.

Overall, this is an excellent brew, and of far better quality than most of the fare offered at a typical liquor store. It doesn't necessarily bring anything *new* to the table--plenty of beers fall into the "hoppy amber ale" category--but what it does do, it does definitively, and reflects the brewers' obvious love for the craft.

Honey colored with a thick beige foamy and dimpled head that sticks around long and sends lace up the sides of the glass.

Big aroma of bright citrus hops, a little doughey malt in the background.

Interesting mixture of red ale flavor laced with citrusy hops, floral notes, and sweet fruit. Just a tad bit of smoke and some caramel, finishes clean with an orange peel bitter. Fairly balanced, although the hops are pretty much center stage.

Mouthfeel is thick and full upfront, a little tingly on the tongue, then morphing to a tannic powdery feel.

Not an earthshaking beer, but I wouldn't mind this one being part of their regular rotation. I could easily kick out 3 of their year-rounds in favor of this, and it's way better than the double IPA.

Pours out a merky brown with a nice thick off white head, great lacing and retention. Smell isn't too strong, I almost smell grass in it, which is odd for this style. Could be my nose. Taste is just a basic amber. Has a little bit of a bitter aftertaste, which isn't really too appealing. Mouthfeel is fair, just the right consistency.

I'm finding that I am starting to stray from liking Ambers, and this is definatly not one of the best I've had.

Beautiful look to it body slight hazed amber ruby forming a thick beige head that rises well above the rim of my glass lacing is thin with no even pattern forming put it is definitely clinging. Aroma is full of floral, pine scented, and somewhat perfume like hops nice sharp grain sweetness caramel and dough yeast combo ride along as well with an underlying flow of acidity. Flavor it is what it says a hoppy amber ale cereal caramel malt sweetness blended with a healthy amount of bittering hops in the flavor I'm getting more pine, earthiness, with a trace of floral hop bite, none of my beloved high alpha acid citric flavors kicking in but it's working in this amber ale. Really hits you with some deep caramelized slightly burnt malts than with some pretty much unrelenting hop bitterness good stuff. One of the best Magic Hat brews I've come across in some time now. Mouthfeel is straight up smooth and even with carbonation body weighs easy with a medium body just a touch of stinging acidity in the finish, but hop burps are on the way. Drinkability, it's always nice to see something other than winter warmers during this time of year enough malt and spices give me some friggin' hops, here's enough to hold me over one the beer stock runs low. I can get this one at the grocery store and it fulfills some portion of my hop head status, can't beat that.

Pours a slightly hazy dark amber color with a one-finger yellowish-tan head. The head sticks around for a while before receding into a patchy layer on top and a thick ring around the glass. Lacing is decent.

Tastes very good. Robust malt flavors take over up front, then give way to citrus and pine, with citrus being more prevalent. There's a good bitterness at the end that lingers along with the pine flavors.

Mouthfeel is good. There's a good thickness with active carbonation that goes down with a nice coarseness.

Drinkability is very good. I could have a few of these with no problem. I wish I had some more.

Overall this is far and away my favorite Magic Hat that I've had to date. Be sure to pick this one up if you see it around.